Arcadia Live Resurrects Nuke, Premiers Buzz Boutique

Besides establishing the longstanding HipHop Open in Vienna, Arcadia Live also resurrected the Nuke festival in Graz. Over 16 years, the HipHop Open had acquired a cult following in Stuttgart, Germany, before being forced to shut down in 2015.

The company also premiered Buzz Boutique, a small event dedicated to the up and coming “bands of the internet-hype-blogosphere” on Oct. 25. CEO Filip Potocki described Buzz Boutique as a “playground, freed from the usual constraints and commercial success.” The goal is to present the audience – the first Buzz Boutique attracted around 300 visitors – with new talent that has yet to experience proper hype. The premiere welcomed Howard and The Prettiots from the U.S., Fickle Friends and Shura from the UK as well as Kytes and L’aupaire from Germany, among others.

“We are able to present what we deem good and worth hearing, moving Vienna a bit closer in the direction of hotspots à la New York or London,” Potocki told Pollstar. Nuke, on the other hand, is very much dependent on economic success. The long-established Austrian festival took a hiatus from 2010-2014 and was reanimated by Arcadia Live as a one-day event Aug. 28. Headlined by German Dancehall and Reggae collective Seeed, the festival sold out, attracting 25,000 visitors to the Messegelände in Graz.

The successful return earned Nuke a nomination at this year’s UK Festival Awards for Best Medium-Sized Festival. Next year’s edition will return to its traditional two-day schedule Sept. 2-3.